Aut Viam Inveniam
by TheWaffleMaker
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless are adjusting to their new lives and new responsibilities, after Drago Bludvist's attack against Berk. However, when they are caught in a storm, and Hiccup falls gravely ill, it's up to Toothless to rescue his best friend.
1. I'm Not Running Away

**Greetings, citizens of Earth**

**I hope your day has been pleasant. Happy holidays.**

**The image used for the cover is one of the paintings in the credits of the second HTTYD movie. (I don't own it, is what I'm trying to say)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dreamworks, HTTYD, anything affiliated with it, etc. etc. hooray everybody.**

Chapter One

"Valka, d'you know where Hiccup is?" Gobber asked the slim, brunette woman.

She shook her head. "It wouldn't surprise me if he'd taken off again. Being the chief scares him to death."

"You'd think that he'd be a bit more responsible, seeing as Berk is still half-covered in ice." The large blacksmith grumbled, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and first finger, even further smearing his face with the omnipresent ash of the forge.

Valka sighed. "You'd think you would be more understanding." She looked up from the saddle that she was working on. "Hiccup is used to a lifestyle of freedom. He's accustomed to taking off whenever he likes. And from what I can tell, he does this sort of thing a lot, running away from responsibility."

That earned a chuckle. "Aye, that's true enough." He shook his head. "I don't know, Valka. Yes, I know that Hiccup's been different his whole life, but he's the chief now, whether he likes it or not. And he has to stay on Berk more because of it." He turned. "Grump! Get the forge going again. And don't bring the roof down on us this time."

The obese dragon lazily lifted a head, and shot a blast of fire that was poorly aimed, and nearly hit Valka. However, the forge's fire was once again glowing.

"If it really means that much to you, have Astrid or someone go after him." Valka said, turning to work once more.

Gobber nodded and stuck his head out of the forge building. "Hey, Hofferson! Go tell that daughter of yours to go after the chief or nothing will ever get done around here." When the reply came in the affirmative, he chuckled, and continued making saddles.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup sighed and lay back onto Toothless. The dragon gave a concerned chirrup and Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not running away. I just...need a break."

He watched the sky race past above him, emerald eyes flicking back and forth across the clouds. He pulled off his leather mask, idly dangling it from his fingers, letting the wind whip past his face. Sitting up, Hiccup ran a hand through his choppy auburn hair. "I don't know bud. I'm not ready to be chief. I can't just leave you, leave my best friend. But I don't have time to take you out flying anymore, I don't have time to do much of _anything _anymore..." He buried his face in his hands. "It's all so messed up."

Toothless turned to start going up into the sky, and Hiccup obliged by clicking the prosthetic tailfin into place. The lithe black dragon climbed through the clouds, and rolled over slightly, motioning for Hiccup to jump off.

"I don't really feel like it today." He said in response, but Toothless would not be deterred to easily. He rolled again, more insistently, and a smile tugged at Hiccup's mouth. "Oh, alright."

He unclipped his harness, and pulled his mask back on. Locking toothless' tailfin, he gave the dragon a pat. "If I start falling and you don't catch me, I'm blaming you."

Toothless rolled his eyes, and Hiccup laughed. "On your own head." Unhooking his metal leg from the stirrup, Hiccup took a deep breath and slid over the side of the Night Fury. He closed his eyes as he fell, and spread his arms, yelling in exhilaration. Toothless was diving alongside him, and let his tongue loll out, letting it flap in the wind.

Hiccup grabbed the saddle and swung himself back onto Toothless, grinning wildly. "Thanks, Toothless." He said softly. "I needed that.

Toothless' reply was to begin climbing again, so that the whole process could be repeated. The worry gnawing at Hiccup's mind was still prominent, but he ignored it, content to enjoy an afternoon.

~)_(~

Dragon and rider lay on the white sands of some island, worn out, but not exhausted. Hiccup had his hands over his eyes to block out the swiftly setting sun. Toothless was contemplating.

It had been five years, almost six now, since he had met Hiccup. Toothless still remembered all too well their first meeting, and the fear that had racked his body, as he knew that he was going to die.

And yet, here he was, assuredly not dead.

In all that time, Toothless had been on several adventures with Hiccup, more than he could co, and never had the Viking seemed so concerned. It hurt him to watch Hiccup frustrated with his inability to lead Berk. Toothless wished he could share advice with Hiccup on leadership-he should know, considering he had years of experience in that department.

He just needed to be more confident in himself. If Hiccup would just acknowledge his strengths, he would be a fine chief. Yet, Hiccup was still so obsessed with the thing that made him different from all of the other Vikings.

Toothless shook his head sharply, and looked up. Black clouds had swept across the horizon, and barely visible was the stormwall and sheets of rain that pounded the Earth relentlessly.

Toothless flicked his tail across Hiccup's face, and the man's hands came away from his eyes. Blinking to adjust his vision to the light, he asked "What's wrong, bud?"

In response, the dragon inclined his head to the rapidly approaching stormclouds, and Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, we should probably head back to Berk anyway."

The Night Fury shuddered a bit as the familiar weight of his rider settled on his back. Bunching up the muscles in his legs slightly, Toothless launched into the sky, hoping they would get back to Berk before the the worst of the storm hit them.

~)^(~

Astrid and Stormfly hit the rocky edge of Berk with a muffled thump. She slid off of her drago's back, and when she turned, was greeted by Valka, a hopeful and worried expression on her face.

"Did you find Hiccup?" She asked, and Astrid shook her head.

"No, I had to come back-there was a huge storm." Valka's face darkened, and Astrid asked a bit more tentatively, "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Of course." Valka answered stiffly. "Hiccup's weathered worse."

_I hope to Valhalla and back that's true,_ Astrid thought as she watched the sky darken, the first black clouds hanging threateningly on the horizon.


	2. The Storm

Lightning.

There had to be lightning.

Hiccup grumbled under his breath as he and Toothless rolled out of the way of another strike of white blue light. The thunder crashed around them in a cacophony.

Ordinarily, Hiccup liked storms. He loved to lay in his bed while the maelstrom raged outside, loved the way the storm rolled over and dominate the world, loved how the thunder shook the walls of his home.

Not in the sky. In the sky, storms were downright terrifying.

"Just hang on a little longer, Toothless. We can get out of this." Hiccup patted the dragon, who in turn gave a derisive snort and narrowed his eyes, determined.

Trying to go back to Berk was the worst decision he could have made considering the situation. Mere minutes after Hiccup and Toothless had left the island, the storm had crashed around them, and they were trapped. For the time being, at least.

Beneath the thin veneer of calm Hiccup was trying to display lay a tumult of fear and apprehension as the winds buffeted them, and electricity flashed down to the ocean. Below that, however, was the worry that if Hiccup could barely get himself and Toothless back to Berk without risking their lives, what right did he have to be the chief of Berk, where the entire villages' fate rested on his shoulders.

A warmth spread through him, rather suddenly. It was unidentifiable, but Hiccup understood the peace that accompanied it.

He didn't need to worry about his responsibilities as chief. What he ought to be concerned with was getting he and his best friend out of the storm unscathed.

"Okay, Toothless." Hiccup muttered, tightening his hold on the saddle. "Let's get out of this storm. Alive, preferably."

A lightning bolt knifed through the air next to them, and Toothless shrieked in surprise, spinning away. Hiccup couldn't keep control, especially as a sudden lethargy had overtaken him, a drastic change from the energy and determination he had felt before.

Hiccup barely had time to lock Toothless' tailfin in place before blacking out, unconsciousness dragging him away as they fell towards the earth, the ground flying up to meet them.

~)_(~

Before they hit the ocean, Toothless unfurled his wings, and he shot up into the sky on the turbulent airflow. They needed to find an island to set down on and wait out the storm.

A rocky cliff overlooking the sea appeared from the gloom, and Toothless pumped his wings, trying to gain altitude. FInally he settled on the ground once more.

Hiccup had spent long hours explaining how all of the levers and catches on his prosthetic worked, including the one that locked Hiccup's metal leg into the stirrup. Batting it a few times released it, and the unconscious Viking slumped off of him a bit.

The harness. There wasn't a way for him to unhook Hiccup's harness. Unless...

Toothless rolled himself over, trying to slide the ring that attached the harness to the saddle off. He probably scraped Hiccup a bit, but that was better than him freezing to death in the merciless rain and cold.

The ring slipped off, and Toothless curled around Hiccup, wings stretching over him to block the worst of the rain. It only took a few minutes, then, for the exhausted Toothless to fall asleep.

The storm lasted what felt like an eternity, but then the sin sliced through the clouds as it rose. Toothless gave a low moan, and rolled back, stretching. Hiccup was still asleep, and Toothless nudged him a bit.

No response.

He nudged Hiccup again, and once more, nothing. A panic coursed through him, but Toothless forced himself to be rational. Hiccup wasn't dead. A slight rise and fall of his chest showed that he was still breathing.

So why wouldn't he wake up?

Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's forehead, and the man groaned a little, his mouth forming words that were slurred and unintelligible. Perhaps Hiccup was more tired than Toothless thought, although that made no sense.

Or maybe not. Toothless strained to remember the word in the human's language. A coma? After the fight with Red Death, Hiccup had been asleep for almost three weeks. Stoick and the other Vikings had said then that was what was wrong with him, that he just needed to sleep off his injury. Could that be what was happening here?

A gnawing pain of hunger suddenly manifested itself in Toothless' stomach, and he realized that he didn't have a way to get food.

Curling up on the ground, he hoped that the Vikings on Berk would realize that their chief was missing, and send someone after him. Quickly.

~)^(~

Astrid and Valka swept across the sky, looking for Hiccup. When he hadn't returned the evening after the storm, their pent up concern was too much to bear, and they went off in search of him.

But as the moon rose above them, they began to feel desperate. Valka was the most worried of the two, which was to be expected-it was her son missing after all. That didn't mean that Astrid wasn't worried as well though.

"It's okay, we'll find them," Astrid said, trying to reassure herself just as much as Valka. Then something caught her attention.

Squinting a bit, she could make out a small flame rising up in the darkness, billowing ad fading out. Then another plume. Then another. Almost as if someone was trying to signal them.

Valka had followed her gaze, and they exchanged a glance. Then with no further delay, they set off to find the source of the flames.

A few minutes later, Stormfly, Cloudjumper, and their riders descended onto a small outcropping of rocks in the ocean. Toothless flopped over on the ground, clearly lacking in energy.

Valka gave a small cry of relief, and slid off of Cloudjumper, rushing to her son's side. Astrid followed close behind.

Hiccup was still unconscious, although his murmurings and movements had become more defined. Valka whispered "Hiccup?" But he didn't respond.

"Is he...?" Astrid asked, not wanting to even phrase the question, but Valka shook her head rigorously.

"Oh, no, he's fine. Maybe he just hit his head or something. He'll come around."  
>Together, Astrid and Valka pulled hIccup onto Cloudjumper, and the latter mounted as well. Astrid went over to Toothless, and slid onto the Night Fury's back. Hiccup had taught her how to control the tailfin, but it was still odd being on the back of a dragon that wasn't Stormfly.<p>

The nadder shuddered, and pulled itself into the sky, quickly followed by Toothless. However, Astrid noted that something seemed off about the small black dragon. Sure enough, after only a few seconds in the air, Toothless alighted back on the ground, breathing heavily.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Come on Toothless, stop being a baby." She taunted. Provoking the dragon may not have been the wisest decision, but it got the Night Fury in the air and kept him there.

The day had been exhausting, and after only a few minutes of flight, Astrid found herself having to work to stay awake.

Suddenly, a large form glided over them, and Cloudjumper scooped them up in his claws.

Before drifting off herself, Astrid noted with a small measure of satisfaction that Toothless had fallen asleep.


	3. Storm Delirium

**Greetings!**

**Thank you all for your follows/favorites/reviews. Considering this is my first actual fanfiction, it means a lot to me.**

**I completely forgot to mention this earlier: There are going to be six chapters of this story. It isn't a long one.**

**Ugh, this chapter really got a bit more cheesy than I would have liked. Please excuse my inability to name things.**

**Guest Reviewer: I just noticed that I had spelled the title incorrectly. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.**

**Also, in this chapter, and in future chapters, when it is the dragons speaking, it's in dragonese. Just thought I'd let you know. One of my beta readers was a bit confused by that. (Has anyone caught on that the symbols in between the breaks in the narrative indicate perspective?)**

**Anyways...story!**

Toothless scarfed down enough fish for a dragon twice his size before ambling over to the side of the Haddock's house, and curling up on the ground miserably as the other dragons who had been too scared to come and eat alongside Toothless raced up to the feeding area.

True, it was thanks to him that he and Hiccup were back on Berk safely. However, the Viking still hadn't awoken.

"It's not your fault." Toothless looked up to see Cloudjumper who eyed him carefully before sidling up to the smaller dragon.

"I know. It's just worrying. None of the human healers know what is wrong."

"That's because it isn't a human ailment." Cloudjumper said. Toothless' head came up sharply, and Cloudjumper bobbed his head in a nod.

"I've seen it before-Valka has as well, but she wouldn't recognize it, not in a human. But the signs are all there: Hiccup is in a delirious state, is he not? He first fell unconscious in a storm, correct? And the most telling sign is that his eyes have gone pale."

"What is it?" Toothless asked, although the pieces were coming together in his mind.

Cloudjumper snorted softly, his breath coming out in steam. "It is known as the Storm Delirium."

The world seemed to roll underneath Toothless' feet. "Are you sure?"

"Are you familiar with it?"

An almost-forgotten memory-he had tried hard _to_ forget-flashed through his mind of awaking from a eon of fear, at least from how he remembered it. The other dragons had said that he had been sick for only a few days, but it felt like so much longer. The Storm Delirium could be devastating to a dragon's mental health, and Toothless himself barely recovered with his sanity. The Storm Delirium seized a dragon's mind, forcing them to live through their worst fears as nightmares in their mind. None of the dragons really knew what caused it.

It haunted dragon lore even still.

Toothless churred bitterly. "Familiar? You could say that." He thought a moment, imagining Hiccup being forced to live through his fears-every single one of them. Even his mind could be brought to ruin. "He isn't a dragon though. It isn't a thing humans can get."

"Perhaps. But Hiccup isn't...completely and entirely human. You know that he seems more dragon than Viking most of the time."

Toothless couldn't argue with that. "How do we stop it?"

"Oh, it's quite simple really." Cloudjumper said. "The cure is a plant. However, it's one of the rarest plants known to dragon kind."

The Night Fury was undeterred. "Where can I find it?"

"An archipelago about a week's journey from here, if you're a strong flier." Toothless caught the undertone in the large dragons voice, and knew that Cloudjmper was referring to his leather tailfin.

Toothless decided to swallow his pride, for Hiccup. "Okay, then we send one of the stronger dragons out."  
>"Easier said than done. Aforementioned archipelago is the Vailancean islands."<p>

Eyes widening, Toothless felt a shiver of fear go through him. "Please tell me that you're joking."

"If only. I went there once, and I'm never doing it again. One of the Skrills that the alpha's est had contracted the Storm Delirium, and my friend Damasen and I volunteered to go. Worst mistake I ever made." Cloudjumper's voice lowered mournfully. "Damasen lost his mind, and the krill did before we could get back."

Toothless shook his head. "No, no, Hookfang will go. He's a strong flier, and he's either brave or arrogant enough to go."

"I wouldn't bet on it." Cloudjumper turned to go eat. "But I would act quickly. Hiccup will get worse every day."

"How long do you think he has?" Toothless asked, while figuring in his head that it would probably take about twelve, most likely thirteen days to get to the Vailancean islands and back.

"With how he is right now?" Cloudjumper replied, "I would say that you have eight days. At the very most."

Night had rested its fingers upon Berk, and Toothless was laying in Hiccup's room in the forge The low-ceilinged nook plastered with drawings and schematics was comforting, even as the dragon gave an anguished moan.

Hookfang had blatantly refused, even when Toothless had resorted to good old-fashioned begging. Finally, Toothless had spat in frustration "You would go if it were Snotlout."

"Even then I would second-guess myself. And if you'll so kindly notice, it isn't Snotlout who is sick." The Monstrous Nightmare had then turned and flown away, as if to mock Toothless' inability to do so.

Asking practically every other dragon on Berk had garnered the same result. They loved Hiccup, but not enough to face down the legends of the Vailancean islands.

_I would go in an instant_, Toothless thought. _But, naturally, I can't._

It was one of those less-than rare moments when he wished that Hiccup wouldn't have shot him down. If course, then he wouldn't have met the Viking in the first place. Although as time went on, Toothless was less and less sure of had drawn him to Hiccup, some innate sense that the fragile human boy would play some major part in his life.

He couldn't let him die. Not now.

Something caught Toothless' eye. Sitting on the shelf was something the dragon thought had been destroyed years ago, but Hiccup must have repaired and kept it.

A new plan formed in his mind, and seizing it from the shelf, Toothless ran off to find someone to put on the new-well, old- prosthetic.

The one that would allow him to fly on his own.

There was still light coming from the Haddock's house as Toothless pushed against the door to let himself in. A fire was going, and Hiccup's bed had been moved to the main room, like the last time he had been seriously injured-when he had lost his leg. Valka, Astrid, and one of the village healers sat at the bedside. Valka had tears still on her face, and Astrid looked as though she were forcing herself not to cry.

Toothless nudged Astrid, who turned at the motion. Her worried expression relaxed only a little as she caught sight of the dragon. He held up the tailfin in his mouth, and Astrid's eyes widened in understanding.

As she took of the usual saddle and prosthetic and replaced it with the other one, Astrid murmured, "I don't think this is a good time for you to be leaving, Toothless. Hiccup needs you."

He snorted, and thought darkly _I'm leaving _because _he needs me._ Twisting to see his tail, he opened and closed the wings a few times before moving on to the next item.

It took some work, but Toothless managed to get a bag down from off of the wall and and around his neck. He would need some way to bring whatever this plant was back to Berk after getting it.

_If_ he got it, the rational part of him said, but he ignored that.

He was about to leave, but paused, and turned back to Hiccup's bedside. He stirred, and his eyes fluttered open for a moment, just long enough to see that the usually emerald green irises had gone pale, like Cloudjumper had said. Before then, Toothless had been able to hope that the ther dragon had been wrong, but that hope had just shattered.

Hiccup murmured softly, words that were for the most part unintelligible, but he caught his name amidst the string of sounds.

Toothless nuzzled Hiccup gently before leaving, pausing only to obtain a description of the plant from Cloudjumper-though not its name he would note later-before launching into the night.


	4. Slipping Away

**Greetings!**

**I hope that you all are having a wonderful holiday season.**

**Thank you so much for all of your follows/favorites/reviews. It really means a lot to me to get feedback.**

**Apologies that this chapter took a bit to come out. Christmas and all sort of got in the way. But anyway, here it is. **

Chapter Four

As Toothless shot across the choppy ocean waters, the legends of the Vailancean islands whirled though his mind.

It was said that the small cluster of landmasses was inhabited by...well, no one really knew exactly what it was. Some said it was the spirits of dead dragons wishing to exact revenge upon the living. Others said it was a great beast of shadow and fog.

Up until a few hours ago, Toothless had been skeptical of the legends in their entirety. It was a bunch of foggy islands that had stirred up a few rumours. So what? But Cloudjumper's story had proved his disregard unwise.

Either way, the entity that existed on the archipelago was supposed to be your greatest fear, or so went the story to scare young dragons into behaving.

His muscles knit with anxiety. What was he _doing_? Some things were not meant to be awoken, and Toothless was fairly certain that the beast of the Vailancean islands was one of those things. Even as he sped across the water, going faster than he had ever dared go with Hiccup on his back so as not to damage the precious equilibrium of a human's body, he wanted to turn back. He couldn't face things like that.

Another train of thought stemmed from that. What was his greatest fear? A small part of him wanted to believe that Hiccup dying was his greatest fear. Yet and even smaller portion admitted that wasn't true, not entirely.

Darkness shrouding his thoughts, the Night Fury continued on.

~o~O~o~

Through the depths of his tormented mind, Hiccup understood on a fundamental level that he must keep hold of the precious strings of sanity that were his lifeline. No easy task as the visions of his darkest conjurings flashed through his mind in a hellish, drawn-out nightmare.

He was thrown against a wall, hands bound and feet tied as Dagur the Deranged laughed above him. Toothless was dragged into the room as well, struggling against the cords of leather that held him fast. The room fractured and reformed as only happens in dreams, and it only served to disorient him further. Dagur's laughter, full of sadistic mirth, rang through Hiccup's mind.

In a fluid movement, Dagur drew a knife and stabbed the black dragon, dragging the blade though Toothless' body. Hiccup could only scream, tears streaming down his face as the soul faded from Toothless' green eyes.

Then the dream took a new course. He was at the fateful meeting ground, just beyond Raven Point on Berk where he had first come across the Night Fury.

The ground seemed to give way beneath his feet, and suddenly _he_ was the one wrapped in a heavy net, unable to move. Toothless towered over him, hatred pouring over Hiccup, preparing to end his life.

The Scene changed.

This was more recent-only a few months prior. The snow was littered with blood and the bodies of dragons and men, behind him the shattered nest of the Bewilderbeast.

Hiccup and Drago Bludvist circled each other, and the larger man laughed.

"This is the son of Stoick the Vast?" He grinned. "What shame he must feel."

Hiccup flinched, and the world catapulted around him, mimicking his whirlwind of thoughts.

_He's never where he should be._

_Worst Viking Berk has ever seen._

_Stop all this, stop being all of you._

_Pathetic._

_Useless._

Then his father pushing him away. Hiccup hit the ground of the great hall with a thud, and Stoick said fiercely, "You've thrown your lot in with them."

The words echoed through Hiccup's mind, taunting him, mocking him, as so many had done over the years.

_You're not a Viking._

_You're not my son._

One of the few thread binding Hiccup to sanity snapped.

~O_o_O~

Cloudjumper nudged the door open. The fire had died down to only a few embers, and the candles had long since burned out, leaving the room dark save for the few rays of morning light that filtered through the door.

Valka was slumped in her chair, asleep after so many hours of caring for her son, trying to get food and water into his body, and holding his hand in hers as he fought through the Delirium.

The sickness had taken hold of Hiccup's body and mind with a vengeance. Three days after Toothless had left Berk, Valka was forced to restrain Hiccup by tying him down to his bed, in the worry that he could hurt himself in how he thrashed around as if in immense pain.

It wouldn't do well to lose another Haddock chief so soon.

Cloudjumper nuzzled Valka's hand, and the woman started awake at his owl-like eyes which regarded her with a keen understanding "Good morning, Cloudjumper."

The Stormcutter idled over to the side of the room where his large size wouldn't be as much in the way.

"_Good morning to you too, Valka_." Cloudjumper replied formally, the clawed on the tips of his wings scraping at the floor,

Valka re-lit the fire, and propped open the door to let light and air inside. Hiccup had been relatively quiet this morning-he was shifting slightly, and murmuring gently, as opposed to his screams and violent shaking of the night before.

A figure appeared in the doorway. "Is he any better?" Astrid asked hopefully, although she sounded worn.

Valka shook her head, and Astrid sighed, collapsing into the chair that Valka had just vacated. "I guess I should stop hoping so that I can be surprised when he does finally wake up.

"If, Astrid. It's been five days..."

"_When_." Astrid replied, more insistently.

Cloudjumper wanted to agree with Astrid, but knew that Valka was more correct in withholding expectations of Hiccup's recovery. The chance that Toothless would be back in time was slim.

However, there was a chance. A chance for Hiccup's survival.

An at that point, anything to hold on to was good enough for Cloudjumper.


	5. The Vailancean Islands

**Greetings all!**

**(HTTYD is playing as I'm typing this. "I couldn't kill a dragon.")**

**Thanks for all your lovely reviews. They make me happy. :D.**

**Holidays are over, so updates will be more regular.**

**Although this is chapter 5/6 in this fic. You have been warned.**

Chapter Five

Toothless' entire body ached.

He had been flying almost constantly for the past four days. His wings felt numb, and the metal rubbing against his tail was burning cold. Still, he continued on.

Every time he landed, he allowed himself so limited a time to rest, it felt as though he wasn't resting at all. But he pushed himself harder than he ever had before. He would not let Hiccup die.

And so forge on he must.

A sigh of relief shuddered though his body, mingling with fear. A thick fog had wrapped around him, rather suddenly, and though his heart was pounding, he felt a sense of accomplishment at having finally reached the Vailancean islands.

For the thousandth time, he coached himself on his plan: go in, quickly find what he was looking for, and leave. He wouldn't waste time dawdling. Who would in this place of nightmares?

Something raced past the side of his head, but when he turned to see what it was, nothing was there. Perhaps it had been lost in the fog. Nervously, he pulled in his wings a bit, swooping down.

Suddenly, whisper began, beyond his vision, darting out at him. One voice in particular stuck out to him. Above the chorus of other whispers, Toothless could hear one thing repeated over and over again.

_Seren._

_Seren._

_Seren._

He almost stopped in mid-air. He hadn't heard that name in years. No one could possibly know it, and he had that on good authority.

It was his name.

When Hiccup had given him the name Toothless all those years ago, the dragon had readily accepted the new name, presenting it as his own, despite being mercilessly mocked for it. Toothless was the name of a dragon who pioneered peace between his species and the Vikings. The name of someone who was not bound to his past.

Seren, however, was not a name he had ever wanted to hear again. He thought it had been lost to time.

The whispering came again, more earnestly, more insistent. _Seren, it is your duty. Your duty to obey._

Toothless' eyes widened, and he forced himself to land, though he wanted to continue flying.

It couldn't be. That voice...it was _her_ voice, the queen Red Death, the thing that still occasioned his darker dreams.

"She's dead!" Toothless shouted out into the gloom, in a vain attempt to reassure himself. "You are not the queen."

_Or am I, Seren?_ The voice hissed, laughing almost. _For there is no better way to keep someone alive than through your thoughts and dreams._

_And nightmares._

Suddenly, the mist around him coalesced into a large, dark shape, although the figure was hazy. The voice that had been naught but whispers now gained strength and resonated through the air.

"Oh Seren, I've watched you these many years as you've escaped me again and again."

"My name is not Seren." Toothless growled. "Seren died five years ago along with the crimes he committed."

"Crimes? Perhaps like this one?"

The fog around Toothless shifted, forming shapes, things his mind interpreted clearly. Himself, when he was younger by almost ten years, when he was still under the complete control of the queen.

The representation of him turned to face several other dragons who shrank back, cowering. Toothless- No, Seren-reared up, plasma building in his throat. Within a few seconds, all of the other dragons lay dead.

He had killed them.

Toothless shook his head. No, no, that was forgotten, that was not his responsibility. But that didn't change the fact that it weighed him down as heavily as if it had been his.

Pulling himself away from the scene, he continued his search. It didn't take long to find the plant, sharp leaves poking up from the ground. Ripping up one of them from the ground, and with a bit of fumbling, he got it into the bag around his neck. He had to conspicuously ignore the voices swirling around him, hidden in the mist.

_Get in, get out._

He was about to launch into the sky, and forget this place when laughter rang over the islands, a cold sound that made him freeze in place. The voice that had spoken before made itself known once again.

"Oh, that's adorable, Seren. Did you think I was just going to let you leave?"

Toothless narrowed his eyes. "My name is not Seren!"

"Oh? So what is? Toothless? That's a fine name for the most feared of all dragons."

Letting the insult slide, Toothless was preparing to take off once more, but again stopped when he heard the voice. "You have a lot of fears, for one rumored to be fearless. Albeit they're justified, but let's take a look at a few of them, shall we?"

The fog around him twisted and he found himself staring down at the body of someone he knew well. Even though he knew it was an illusion, Toothless' insiders clenched at Hiccup's too-still form, the leather flight suit ripped to shreds. Hiccup was bleeding severely, or had been.

Then, Hiccup's eyes opened, the lacerations fading away.

He looked straight at Toothless, and Hiccup's face writhed in hatred. "Get out of here. Just go. Leave."

Toothless backed away, but it wasn't fast enough to avoid the words that stung his heart worse than any weapon could hurt his body.

"I hate you."

"_NO!_" Toothless shouted. "No..."

A hissing sound, like some sort of twisted laughter. "This is interesting. You're worried of being abandoned, rejected. And yet, you're terrified of hurting this...Hiccup."

Toothless shook his head. "What are you?"

The fog around him turned black. "I am the shadows all fear from birth. I am the fears that haunt nightmares. I am nothing...and I am everything."  
>"And I'm going to rip your throat out." Toothless murmured, steeling himself.<p>

"I would like to see you try." A sudden light flashed through the fog. "Of course, Seren, the things you've seen are far from that which you fear most."

Once again, something shot by his head, although more of the things, invisible and small, followed. Ducking down the ground, Toothless suddenly found himself facing Hiccup, once again.

"You are afraid of killing Hiccup, of losing control. And you're even more concerned over him leaving you. But it's funny how our worst fears always end up being the most selfish."  
>The Hiccup in front of Toothless raised a sword, charging towards him.<p>

It wasn't fair, having this shown to him. For so long, Toothless had tried to deny it. But the only thing that had really, truly scared him for five years, was being killed by Hiccup.

He didn't know what to do; only watching in terror as the form approached him, raising the sword about to strike. He wasn't sure if it would really kill him-perhaps it was. Perhaps dragons died facing their nightmares here.

_No._ He thought, as his rational thought began to slip away. _That isn't really Hiccup_.

The name of his best friend gave him a comfort.

And he remembered why he had come to this godforsaken place at all.

_Hiccup._

Toothless stood up, building up a blast of plasma in his throat. Firing it into the sky, he shouted "I will not be controlled by my fear!"

The form of Hiccup in front of him shattered, dissolving into the fog. Toothless shot more bolts of fire into the gloom, feeling something immense building up inside of him, the same feeling when he had jumped on top of Hiccup to protect him from the ice of the Bewilderbeast.

Then he exploded with blue light.

The fog shrouding the islands shot outward, dissipating into the night sky.

For a moment, a shadowy figure was reflected in the waters, a hazy outline in the moonlight.

_Well done, Seren._

_Well done._

Then it rippled, and vanished as well.

Toothless lay panting in the grass. He was exhausted, and didn't feel as though he could fly a foot.

But he had to get back to Hiccup, quickly.

He didn't need any of his nightmares coming true any time soon.


	6. Homecoming

**Greetings**

**I shall make no excuse for my absence save that I am forced to drastically cut back on my writing time. I have two fanfictions going, and a working on getting a novel done-hence the extended period of time in which there was no update. **

**This is however, the final chapter. **

**No more hiatus. It simply is ending. :)**

Chapter Six-Homecoming

Cloudjumper knew that Hiccup was dying

Of course, he had been dying since he had contracted the Storm Delirium, but it had been seven days. Toothless had yet to return, but he needed to quickly,or he would be short a friend and rider.

Hiccup had degenerated into a frail shadow of himself. Despite Valka's care, he had lost weight, the finely contoured muscles underneath his skin fading. While still in the earlier stages, he at least had been moving. Now though, he lay deathly still, skin pale and sweating. Hiccup's breathing was shallow, and according to Valka, his pulse was getting weaker.

Cloudjumper knew what would happen next-the pale irises of Hiccup's eyes would go completely white, and then any breath could be his last.

~)_(~

Toothless broke through the clouds above Berk, and folded in his wings, diving. A sonic wave rippled out from his body as he hurtled through the sky, a high pitched ringing that could be heard for miles.

Spreading out his wings at the last possible moment, he hit the ground with a thud, rolling painfully through the grass and rocks until he came to a stop. Cloudjumper was by him in a moment.

"Did you get it?"

Toothless slid the bag over his head, and Cloudjumper took it, sprinting back up the hill toward the Haddock's house.

He tried to follow the larger dragon, but the adrenaline surge that had come when he had sighted Berk was fading, and the exhaustion he had pushed to the fringes of his conscious had slammed into his full-force. Before he could take a step, he collapsed to the ground.

He had done it. Done the impossible.

He could only hope it had been in time.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup shot awake, breathing heavily. His gaze darted around the room, preparing for an attack, for a nightmare, for anything. What was this? This dream felt different, more lucid, more stable. Cloudjumper tilted his head, owl-like eyes regarding him carefully. His mother was asleep in a chair next to his bed.

Which was in the main room of his house.

Nothing happened, and Hiccup waited, tense, the only sound his breathing. It took several minutes for him to realize what was happening. He was awake.

He was awake.

It was over.

"Oh gods." He murmured, burying his face in his arms. "It's over, it's done..." He repeated the words as if it were a barrier against the horrors of his mind.

"Hiccup?" He looked up, to see his mother staring at him in almost disbelief. Something inside him broke hearing his mother's voice, and he burst into tears. She stood up quickly, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close as he sobbed into her shoulder. His mother softly stroked his hair, not saying anything, simply gratefully holding her son.

~)-(~

Astrid had given up hope. She stubbornly still checked in with Valka, but she didn't believe that Hiccup would get better. He would die. It was only a matter of time

Tears streaked unwillingly down her face, and she tried to wipe them away as she went up to knock on the door.

There was a shuffling sound, and what almost sounded like muted conversation, and the door opened. Astrid cried out in shock, not sure if she believed that Hiccup stood in front of her. She must have decided to believe it, because in the next moment she had thrown herself forward at him into his arms.

Her tears were no longer forbidden.

Pulling away, she hit him on the rm hard. "That's for scaring me."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, and wrapped his arms around her once more, leaning down to kiss her. "And this is for everything else."

~)_(~

Toothless had spent the entire day sleeping, trying to shake off the exhaustion of flying to and from the Vailancean islands. When he wasn't sleeping, he was eating, trying to make up for the lack of nourishment over the course of his journey.

Hiccup had come down to find him, still walking slowly, still not very strong. But the fact that he was alive was enough that Toothless didn't care what condition he was in.

Hiccup sat next to him now. They were at the cove, sitting next to the lake while the sun set, the streaks of pink and orange and gray knifing through the the sky. The man's arm was around Toothless' neck, and they both relished in comfort of each other's presence.

Of course, Toothless thought, Hiccup would never know the sacrifice he had made for him.

He wasn't sure if he wanted Hiccup to know.

He still looked sickly, and weak, although his strength was returning, and the color was returning to his eyes, making them a brilliant green once again. It was a satisfying feeling to know his friend was safe because of him.

Toothless looked up at the sky, where a few members of the Dragon Academy were flying overhead, but they ignored the two in the cove, or didn't notice them. That suite Toothless just fine.

"You know, you can keep that tailfin if you like." Hiccup said, gesturing to the black leather of the prosthetic. Toothless shook his head sharply in an obvious reply. Hiccup chuckled softly. "Don't you want to fly with the other dragons?"

Toothless paused. Yes, he did. He longed for the freedom of free flight. And yet, at the same time he had forged a bond with Hiccup. He wasn't sure that he would ever give that up. He didn't think he'd ever want to.

He looked up again at the sky. The dragons overhead had passed, leaving the sky clear once again.

No. He didn't want to. He had done the impossible for Hiccup, and Toothless wouldn't let something like that go so easily.

He did resolve however, that he would protect Hiccup no matter what.

Whatever happened, he would find a way.

**So there you have it.**

**I don't like asking for reviews and such, but I really would appreciate it if you would leave a comment telling me what you thought, or liked or didn't like about the story.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-TheWaffleMaker**


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